178 - Concerning the power that the King of Portugal conferred on the Bishop of Coimbra and on the constable, and how they met the Master of Santiago and Ruy López

Summary

The Genoese Master Ambrosio left for Castile and the King of Portugal immediately wrote to the constable, who at that time was in Évora, describing all the dealings he had had with the Genoese and the message with which he had gone away. He told the constable that it behoved him to go to Olivença, where he and the Bishop of Coimbra should be present on his behalf, and informing him also about who from Castile were to go to Villanueva de Barcarrota, in order to deal with the proceedings, in accordance with the power that would be conferred upon them.

As soon as the count read the message, he began to make ready with 500 well-equipped and mounted lances, and the Bishop of Coimbra went with him. Rui Lourenço, a bachelor in canon law, was to go in their company, as well as another famous scholar called Álvaro Peres Escolar, to set out, on behalf of the King of Portugal, the wrongs the latter had suffered from his adversary.

Although for some people it may seem superfluous to write about the power they held and which the king had conferred upon all of them, here follows the gist of it.

In his name and in that of his heirs King João pledged and conferred upon all five of them, honest men of goodwill, full powers to arbitrate on all demands, questions, disagreements and disputes arising from the war in which they (he and his adversary) were involved, and on all matters that could arise from it and for which they might expect one king to be somehow under an obligation to the other. Furthermore, that they all, having reached one and the same opinion, summarily without further judicial formality, whether the kings and their proctors were present or not, were empowered to agree and determine the wrongs, damages and acts of plunder for which one king was to be held responsible to the other, and to make the kings friends as they wished and deemed fit; they could eliminate from between the kings all enmity and ill-will through a truce or permanent peace, as they best saw fit;